This blog is now archived. A discussion on censorship through the Pelham Public Library, Fonthill, Ontario. Take the "Banned Book Challenge." A comprehensive list of "banned book" sites and resources for the novel "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury can be found on the sidebar.

Teacher Kay McSpadden believes that "regardless of the specific charge against a book, the underlying issue is almost always an offense to the reader's sense of cultural propriety. " She goes on to argue that, "People who challenge books worry not only that their culture is slipping beyond their control, but they believe that books can have a pernicious effect on readers."

She acknowledges the power of words to hurt or heal, but weighs that against the principle of free speech and the ability of people in a democracy to make informed decisions for themselves. She believes that students will "get it."

Students who have the freedom to read and who have been encouraged to think critically don't miss the point. They can see through the temporal issues of culture to the eternal concerns of what it means to be human, and they discover their own humanity in the words of people close and far, known and unusual.